Abu

There's a practice I find amusing here in the Arab nations that I haven't come accross anywhere else in the world: that of being named after your kids.  To do this, they use the term "abu" which means "Father of."  Makes sense since you obviously like those names given that you chose them for your kids.

Formally they use the "Al" to refer to a father somewhere up the family line or tribe (similar to the whole -son and -dottir thing in Iceland.)  A typical name in Saudi would be Mohammed AlDossary for example. But as you get to know people better, know their family and know their kids, the more informal greeting is Abu.

"Abu Stéphane,  Santosh is away for four weeks on his annual leave.  I trust you will do the needful to assure proper coverage of the plant."

Stéphane found this quite amusing when he was here and burst out laughing of joy every time it was used.  I could try to tell him there a sub-clause that allows me to use other kids names if I liked them better and told him that I'm really an Abu Danika or Abu Jérémie but he confidently replied: "No, you're an Abu Stéphane."

So when father's day came along, Jérémie was on the ball and wished me happy father's day 9 hours ahead of the others by being in tune with the proper Saudi time zone.  I let Stéphane know that I was now going by Abu Jérémie since he gained my favour.  In the "Abu" WhatsApp group Stéphane frustratingly replied:  "Damn,  I take my Abu-ship seriously."

Proud papa,

Abu-Sténimie

Milestone at work in our envelope this week!

http://saudigazette.com.sa/business/sadara-first-pmdi-facility-starts/

Incredible India

I will let the pictures tell the story of the whole trip to India...

Incredible India Photo Gallery

Nishant & Shivangi's Punjabi Wedding

First of all - endless thanks to Nishant and the Gautam family for the invitation to his Hindu Punjab wedding.  We (my son Stephane and myself) were treated and included as family throughout the rituals and ceremonies. We feel so lucky!

Nishant and I are are co-alumni of working at Sirius Controls and cycling with the Velocity Club.  Bringing him and his family to the Bonnyville chuckwagon races pales in comparison to this experience.

I don't know how he will ever explain this wedding extravaganza to his co-workers back in Canada. I'm not going to do it justice in describing it here either. You really have to see it to understand the grandeur of this affair.

- Ceremonies typically last a week but we joined in on the second last night, Wednesday night, 'DJ Night'.  The whole street in front his parents' beautiful home was closed off for this party.  The house itself was decorated in lights and flowers.  Both Nish's parents have eight siblings so this "family of the groom" event was fairly large - maybe 150 people.  (The bride had her own event). It was deliciously catered with street-style food and plenty of water to keep the energetic crowd hydrated on this 35+ Celsius night.  This "let loose" event was just what the family needed after a year of several unfortunate deaths.
- The next day, the same family crowded in Nish's parents house for the groom's dressing ritual.  His golden garment (and shoes), the forehead tainting, the turban wrapping and arranging the crown outfitted with strings of beads.  It started a few hours behind schedule and it took several hours to complete.  This included the last step where he wore a "cash" necklace and the family blessed him and offered financial gifts to him.  Many steps of the wedding includes rupee bills being thrown on the groom and bride - this was one of them.  A wish of prosperity, I guess.
- he left the house to the fanfare of a marching band and mounted a decorated white horse.  The female family members performed a little dance and cheer to start the parade which would culminate at the hall.  He switched to a horse carriage and many kids joined his side.  Other family (including us) danced in front of the progression.  Fireworks exploded as he approached the main hall.
- At the entrance, another ritual then started as all the male members of the bride and groom families exchanged hugs and gifts (another hour goes by.). There was much excitement as an uncle of the bride is a famous Bollywood villain.  The walk/dance from the entrance took another 45 minutes or so.  We had our first glimpse of the grand stage with a full stage shows of Indian dance troops, professional DJs and belly dancers.  The "whole community" seemed to be invited with about 800 guests in attendance.
- Again, a professionally delicious catered meal with all the great tastes and sweets of northern India you would expect. Many different side carts included ice cream, ice drinks and (chai) tea.
- I'll also mention there was a professional film crew complete with 3 still cameramen, soft/spot lights, a drone and a video crew with extending pivot arm focused on the stage show.  **Poor sap who will have to rummage thru this footage to make the final product.
- To rewind a bit - the marriage was arranged by the mothers who know each other on the Hoshiarpur women's social scene.  The couple themselves met for the first time in November.  Shivangi, the bride will move to Canada to live with Nishant and his sister Kirti who have now been in Canada for 7 years.  I sense that Canada is a nirvana for the Punjabi, where many want to study and live.  This was apparent from the countless TV and billboard ads about Canada.  We also heard of many family members (mostly cousins) that were living in Edmonton, Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto.
- Once the bride finally reached the stage it was almost 11pm.  Everybody took their turns taking pictures with them and they had their first dance.
- As further rituals continued into the night we went to sleep and rejoined the wedding party under the mango tree near the family home the next morning at 10 am.  They hadn't slept yet and were giddy with fatigue.  I was impressed that Nish was still smiling as he was thru the WHOLE event!  The last ritual was the removal of all the garments and jewelry.  Once done, we had a quick meal together and they were finally going to bed.  As for us, we headed to be tourists in Amritsar, Wagah, Agra and Delhi with our arranged driver, Kuldeep.
- side note:  the family neighborhood was surrounded by marijuana/hemp.  As Nish's dad pointed out, nobody cares or knows what it is.  It's where weed is actually a weed.

MIND BLOWN!!  Thank you again for having Stephane and me there.

Kirti Interview

Nishant Interview

Riyadh Pics

Riyadh Wheelers 100km Cycling Race

Well, the race is over.  My season is over.  Wow, It's March!  Time to root for Stewart and Dayton to break out of Cat.5 back in Canada.  Here in Saudi I will settle into the air conditioning and set up the bike on the trainer to keep the cardio activity up.  They count the number of days that reach 50C here as opposed the the number of days that surpass 30C in Edmonton.  So riding outside will not be feasible.  Mohd says it's often 40C by 6 or 7 am.

Putting the race on the calendar worked really well to give something to focus on and to keep from going too far south on fitness.  I was not the same rider I was last summer due to the move, the new job and joining in mid-season (Sept to early April) in Saudi.

The person who was prepared was Mohd, the "rookie".  I'm ptetty sure he was the strongest rider there.  (For my biker savvy friends, he's a 5.2 watts/kg rider.) 

We made the 4 hour drive to Riyadh on Thursday night to then wake at 5am.  Carl, a Jubail Cycling Club member from the UK joined us but his race was affected with mechnical issues.  We arrived at the course about 1 hour before start time.  My quick estimation is about 120 riders (all but about 5 were men).   About 30 were Saudi.  About 60 were Philippinos,  the balance were other expats.  Mohd's other friend, Chad from the Bahamas, was in the house.  Chad is the defending champion and he told Mohd he'd have a big target and many other riders follow and mimic his every move.  He encouraged Mohd to go for it and he would distract the other contenders.  The course was 10 laps of a 10km circuit.

First lap was a neutral one then straight away Mohd went on a break and I jumped in his slipstream.  I used all my efforts just to stay behind him and could not contribute to the attack.  The peleton stretched out to catch us and only about 25 riders were able to sustain the rush and we eventually regrouped.  I drifted to the back to rest but Mohd was ready for a other attack and there he went with a sole follower (lap 3.) 

The group of chasers set to catch him with Chad and myself in that mix trying to block the attempt.  We do this by staying in the rotation of riders but when we make it to the front of the group slow the pace slightly to let Mohd move ahead more.  It worked to some extent but 2 then 1 rider braved the effort to go reach Mohd making the lead group now 5 riders.   20 chasing.  (Lap 4.)

It stayed that way till the 75 km mark.  Just when I thought it was comfortable and would stay that way to the finish.  The pace picked up and up on the section which climbed 70 meters over 4 km.  Not a big climb but enough to implement a move.  It worked as 6 riders (mostly Saudi acclimatized to the dry heat i figure) eventually broke from the group and I popped with many others.  I was left in limbo land and solo rode for the next 2 laps.  I was then caught by Chad and 2 other just in time to challenge me to a sprint finale.  There was so much cat and mouse going on, I think we got passed by two riders.  How silly!!  Also I cramped up and could not put a decent effort for the sprint.  The dry heat must of silently sucks the fluids out of me.  Final result:12th.

As for Mohd, he continued to do a lot of work and his breakaway mates thanked him by dropping him at the 95km mark.  (Is there a word for Front in the Phillipine language?)  At the point Mohd saw them bridging to him early in the race, he slowed to let them in.  Just an opinion, but he should have pushed on at that point.  As I told Mohd:  you learn to race by racing.  We're all still proud of you Mohd.  Final result:  just off the podium in 4th.

Good times...will certainly put in on the calendar again next year.  Not much else going on in Riyadh.  Lots of funky building including the tallest: The Kingdom Center.  It's 99 stories and has a bridge walk at the top.  We did take the tour:  see pictures below.

Vacation in Malta and Sicily

Hello friends.

My first official Sadara holiday has come and went and it was wonderful.  2 weeks of Malta and Sicily.  24 hours layovers in Amsterdam on each end plus quick connections thru Istanbul, Turkey.

Kids, you'll probably recognition this question:  "So what was your favorite part of your trip?."  2 part answer below, one for Malta and one for Sicily.   The bikes and my bike ride in Amsterdam, which blew my mind due to the sheer number of bikes and cyclists, will be noted here instead.

Associated Album.

Malta

1. Feast of St.Paul.  The original plan was 6 days Malta and 6 days Sicily but my Maltese  neighbour on the plane told me of a national holiday happening on "day 7" which including celebration in the streets of Valetta.  Made that happen!  It was a marching band meets soccer huligans on packed-full streets while people throwing paper down from the windows above.  Good fun.

2  Fortresses and ruins.  Malta has much history and much of it has to do with fighting as its ownership changed hands multiple times.  Knights of St.Peter being the notable one that I retained from the tours.

3. No go to Gozo on bike but opted for town to town car rally instead.  Frightened by a few extreme wind gusts, that could have easily slammed us into either the railing or close-by traffic, we turned around and parked our two-wheeled transport.  In the car, we used Google Maps to guide us thru the same itinerary we were to do by bike. Many great view in this very small island.

4. Cliffs and other coastal wonders like the Blue Lagoon.  It also included a day of snorkeling in the cool waters.  Luckily the wetsuits were very thick (and tight) to the point you could hardly move in them.

5. Driving in Malta.  In summary:  right side steeting wheel, left-hand gear chaning all happening on the left- side of the road.  Narrow, narrow streets (same case in Sicily especially in Taormina) - never quite sure if the road fits two cars nevermind big buses.  Always being prepared to cede way to oncoming traffic.  And lastly, the countless clockwise traffic circles.

Sicily
1. Mount Etna in Sicily.  Is it really there?  After choosing a condo with a Mt.Etna view BUT not seeing the volcano for 5 days of our 5 day stay, as it was cloudy the whole time, it almost went unnoticed.  But the venture to explore it happened on that last day.  It started with a drive up to the ski lodge on a road that has been part of a Giro d'Italia stage finish on a few occasions (10 kilometer, 10% steady climb.)  The gondola then broke through the clouds and voilá: a little paradise above the clouds alone with an active exploding volcano, puffing our blast every 3-4 minutes some actually sending out lava bombs which are large rocks included in some blasts.  A snow cat then brought the group to the base of the actual active portion where we were a few 100 meters from the active crater.  A guide took us on the edge of another massive crater that blew in 2003, on it there was no snow plus it was steaming due to the retained heat from 13 years prior.

Well after this wonderful day, Mt.Etna was in full view on check out morning - complete with its puff clouds and right beside the mediteranian sea.  To  boot, check out what Etna has been up to HERE in the weeks since this visit!  Wow:  Magma and all!!
2.  Pizza in Catania!  Best pizza ever!   With equally awesome olive oil and spray-on balsamic vinegar!

3. Hike from Taormina to Castelmola.  Two small towns perched on the mountain-side.

4. Beach day including a walk to Isla Bella at low tide.  Mindless rock collecting and dreaming of finding treasures washed up on shore!

5. Private Cooking class in Catania.  Starting with a trip to the street market below where Roma, the chef, selected fresh ingredients: fennel, oranges, tomatoes, garlic,  bread, bread crumbs, pasta and squid (yes, squid).  The outcome after a few hours of washing, chopping, cookung, reducing, and sharing stories: deep fried fennel balls, orange fennel salad, brushetta, and the totally BLACK seppia de nero.  A skid and pasta dish blended in the squid's ink to give it its color and unique taste (the closest I can describe is that of black olive.)

Now...back to work and countdown to the next get-away!

My Initial Arabic Vocabulary

Just a quick posts to document my first words of Arabic.  Just like I've determined in many places before, knowing the local language is appreciated by the locals and is a great conversation starter; same holds true here. Greetings in Arabic lasts a long time like 5-10 minutes so there a many greeting like phrases in Arabic.  I did learn one thing as I was writing down phrases as I learnt them.  During taxi rides I would ask for my Arabic word of the day which I record in my daytimer.  I also like to do the same as I meet my Saudi co-workers.  One of the young Saudis was curious to see what I had on my list so I showed him.  He then says: "why are your words written with an Indian accent?"  My reply: "Oh, that would be cause many of my words are from the taxi driver."  LOL, most if not all taxi drivers in taxi drivers in Saudi are from an area in southern India called Kerala.

For the most part the younger generation knows English better than the older generation and I'm pretty sure on this one too:  Their English is better than my Arabic.

My goal is to learn 10 words a month.  Coming up on 2 months and current word count = 27.

Assalam Ealaykum:  Peace Upon You

Kayf Halif / Kayf Hal:  How are you?

Hamdu Lellah:  Good, Peace be to God.   (I like how this one rolls off the tongue!)

Saber Alkhyr:  Good Morning

Saber alnur:  reply to above: "I am bright"

Masa Alkhry:  Gord Afternoon.

Masa Alnur:  reply to above

Kayf Alhal:  How is your situation?

Alhan: Hi

Hala or Halahala:  Slang Hi.

Masalama:  Good Bye (Also like how that one sounds.)

Naam or Iya:  Yes

Laa: No
Shurkran: Thank you
Min Fadlak:  Please

Comme Folos:  How much? (money)

Wahhed: One

Ashara: Ten

Ishirin: Twenty

Endek: Do you have...?

Mook Mafi: Crazy

Maji Nun:  Born Crazy

Inta row: You go

Sura Sura: Go Away

Waggif: Stop

Yaa Saa: Left

Yaa Min: Right

Giddam:  Straight or slang for "Let's Go" or "Turn it Up" or "Giddy Up"

Yallahh:  Go or like "Allez, allez" in cycling.  Mohd's Encouraging Words.

ريجان ليون جوزيف جوزيف.

Even after 5 weeks now, I'm still marveled at anything written in Arabic.  Many of my documents come written either completely or partially in Arabic: my registration into the Saudi Engineering Council, my driver's license and my work visa.  The blog title is actually my name!! Arabic is also written from right to left so that throws you off as well when trying to translate.  I'm taking pictures of stop signs, granola boxes, license plates - it's just fascinating.  The license plates have the numbers in both styles so that made it easy to learn.  I find the numbers very confusing compared to "regular" numbers:  what looks like a seven is a six, what looks like a backwards three is a four, what looks like a nugget is a five, the zero looks like a dash, the seven is a V and the eight is an upside down V!  At least the number one and nine are kinda similar to ours.  Plus, I don't know why they made the two and three so similar looking. (kinda like our O and Q.)  Here are the numerals and their pronunciations: